The field of the invention is the production of seafood.
The earliest history of the human race shows us as hunter-gatherers, who took what the land produced for our own purposes. These hunter-gatherers were part of the natural scene rather than changing the natural scene for their own purposes. About 7,000 to 8,000 years ago in the Middle East, this changed with the domestication of wild animals, such as the cow, pig, goat, sheep and dog. At that point, our ancestors began herding domestic animals to the best pastures with changing seasons and conditions. Our ancestors continued to hunt and gather food, but found herding more productive. This trend continued with the domestication of the horse in the arid regions of Western Asia.
Then about 5,500 years ago, a new invention swept the then civilized world. This invention was the mold-board plow, which increased the productivity of a farmer by about a factor of seven. It also changed the way we looked at the land, from passive acceptance to active intervention. This change resulted in the planting of favorite crops, rather than accepting what had always grown there. Our ancestors also began to add water and nutrients to the soil, to further increase productivity.
These transitions were not always smooth or without controversy. For many years, there was a free range in the Western states of the United States of America. At that time, some argued strongly against fences, roads, houses, farms, railroads and other encroachments on the free range. They correctly argued that cities would follow such encroachments on the free range.
While such transitions have progressed considerably on the land, they have hardly begun on the oceans which cover three fourths of the earth's surface. A similar return in the increased productivity of the oceans may be achieved by similar changes.
The fishermen and the fisherwomen of the world have known for many years that there is a great variation in the productivity of the different areas of the oceans and other bodies of water. Recently, the extent of this variation has been measured and the reasons for it determined. It is now known that about 60% of all life in the ocean occurs in 2% of the ocean surface. Thus, the ocean may be considered as a vast desert with only a few verdant zones where life abounds. These verdant zones are easy to spot. For most of the ocean surface, you can see about 150 to 300 feet (about 46 to 91 meters) through the water, as you can see in the Gulf Stream. In contrast, you can see only about 2 feet (about 0.6 meters) through the water in the productive zones of the oceans because the living matter in the water is so dense. This is the case in the natural upwelling off the coast of Peru.
Samples have been taken from these productive zones, and from other areas of the ocean. The difference has been determined. The productive zones of the ocean are rich in iron, phosphorus, nitrogen and trace minerals, while the rest of the ocean is missing one or more of these elements. These fertilizing minerals are required in order to obtain the maximum production of seafood from a given area in the ocean. There is considerable variance in the nutrients present in different zones of the ocean surface, and samples must be taken and analyzed in order to ascertain the exact level of nutrients required to obtain the productivity of the Peruvian upwelling.
The oceans differ from the land in several regards: (1) there is never a drought in the oceans; (2) the oceans move; and (3) the oceans mix both vertically and horizontally. The first difference means that the oceans need only minor constituents in order to achieve improved productivity. There is also easy access to the oceans, without the need to construct railroads and highways. The second difference means that the fertilization may be carried out at a location that is quite distant from the location where the harvesting of seafood is carried out. The third difference means that the fertilization must be carried out on a large scale, or the results of the fertilization may be impossible to find.
The art that is related to the present invention includes the art of fertilizers and other methods to improve the production of seafood.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,189,379 discloses a method for bringing nutrient-rich water from the aphotic zone of the ocean to the photic zone. This patent discloses that life on earth depends on food that is created by green plant organisms through the process of conversion of sunlight into energy known as photosynthesis. In oceans, sufficient sunlight to support the process of photosynthesis is present in only the 100 to 200 meters of water beneath the surface of the ocean. The term photic zone may be used to describe this area, where all of the ocean's photosynthesis takes place. Below the photic zone, there is the aphotic zone where there is insufficient light to support photosynthesis. The production of harvestable food in the photic zone may be increased by artificially inducing an upwelling of relatively nutrient-rich water from the aphotic zone. This patent further discloses a water desalinization device that may be submerged in order to induce such an upwelling, and that avoids the disadvantages of thermally operated systems.
"Testing the iron hypothesis in ecosystems of the equatorial Pacific Ocean", J. H. Martin et al., Nature, Volume 371, pages 123-129 (Sep. 8, 1994) describes a test that iron might limit phytoplankton growth in large regions of the ocean by enriching an area of 64 KM.sup.2 in the open equatorial Pacific Ocean with iron. This reportedly resulted in a doubling of plant biomass, a threefold increase in chlorophyll and a fourfold increase in plant production. Similar increases were reportedly found in a chlorophyll-rich plume downstream of the Galapagos Islands, which was naturally enriched in iron. These findings reportedly indicate that iron limitation can control rates of phytoplankton production and biomass in the ocean.
There are a great many fertilizers and methods of fertilization that are known to the related art.
U.S. Pat. No. 976,793 discloses a fertilizer that comprises salts such as nitrates and phosphates of ammonia and potash, with a cementitious material that produces a granular mass, from which these soluble salts will not easily be leached by the action of water.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,579,579 discloses a method for preparing a slow-release fertilizer. The fertilizer may comprise a natural, organic, highly absorbent carrier material, such as peanut hulls, with a nutrient material rich in nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium and trace elements along with a chemically complete and balanced plant nutrient. The nutrients become available at a slow and controlled rate because before they can be leached away from the peanut hulls, the organic carrier of the nutrients must decompose. In addition, the peanut hulls act not only as carrier for the nutrients but are themselves a nutrient material.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,581,846 discloses a system and method for the fertilization of forest, farm and other large plant communities. One of the objects of the invention that is disclosed by this patent, is to provide a long-term nutrient source from solid and liquid municipal wastes. The patent discloses a centralized system involving the conversion of insoluble organic and mineral compounds to soluble plant nutrients by means of microorganisms living within a cellulosic matrix of a large package.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,755,397 discloses a starch based particulate encapsulation process. This patent discloses a method for encapsulating a wide variety of materials using starch as the encapsulating agent. This process of encapsulation may be used to encapsulate a wide range of materials, including plant growth regulators and fertilizers.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,911,952 discloses encapsulation by entrapment within a matrix of unmodified starch. A substantially complete encapsulation is achieved without the use of chemical cross-linking reagents. The process may be used to encapsulate nutrients, micronutrients and a wide variety of other agents.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,143,020 discloses a pond fertilizing apparatus. This apparatus comprises a receiver that is positioned below a floatation structure. The floatation structure is provided with a funnel shaped opening. Fertilizer may be poured through the funnel shaped opening into the receiver. Water may flow between the top of the receiver and the floatation structure, and thereby dissolve fertilizer.